Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Shares Sold by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 172,257 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 8,112 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $8,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CATY. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 63.5% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 850 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 189.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the bank’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the bank’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

Cathay General Bancorp stock opened at $43.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.78. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1-year low of $33.88 and a 1-year high of $55.29.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 20.57%. On average, analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on CATY. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.80.

Cathay General Bancorp Company Profile

Cathay General Bancorp operates as the holding company for Cathay Bank that offers various commercial banking products and services to individuals, professionals, and small to medium-sized businesses in the United States. The company offers various deposit products, including passbook accounts, checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, and public funds deposits.